This horrific picture shows how a taxi driver was left covered in blood after being brutally attacked by passengers.

Sheikh Arbaz was assaulted after he asked two customers travelling in his cab to stop burning the back seats with a lighter, after he picked them up around 4.30am, last Saturday.

One of the men got out of the 43-year-old’s vehicle and took his keys before demanding he hand over his takings.

After the father-of-four offered them money he was then punched in the face.

His terrible attack only came to an end after nearby residents came out of their houses after hearing his screams, causing the men to flee.

Shaz Saleem, chairman of the Dudley Private Hire & Taxi Association, said: “It’s heartbreaking. When he got home, his two daughters aged three and five were absolutely shocked to see his face and they were like ‘Daddy, what happened?’

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“He told them that he fell over because it’s not nice to be attacked at work. How do you face your family after that has happened?”

Mr Arbaz, who drives for ABM Taxis, picked the pair up from his firm’s base near Stourbridge town centre and they originally asked to be taken to the Village Hotel in Dudley .

They then changed their minds and asked to go to Hallchurch Road, Dudley , where they tried to burn his seats using a lighter.

When he asked them what they were doing, one of the men got out and started demanding money.

Mr Saleem said: “He offered to give them £40 to £50 and they started to punch him. He doesn’t remember much after that. There was screaming and noise and the neighbours came out and they panicked and ran off.”

Mr Arbaz was taken to Russell’s Hall hospital where he received stitches to his face.

He is now recovering at home and is off the road.

Mr Saleem said: “We are angry with the whole situation. We do not believe that any professional body should be working in a unsafe environment.”

West Midlands police said in a statement: “Police are investigating after a taxi driver was attacked by two men who he had taken from his taxi base in Stourbridge to Hallchurch Road in Holly Hall, Dudley in the early hours of Saturday morning (4 Feb).

“Officers are examining CCTV in the area and are asking anyone with information to call police on 101 quoting reference no. 20DY/24611R/17.”